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Purification  of  the  Sacred  Bundles, 
a  Ceremony  of  the  Pawnee 

BY 

RALPH  LINTON 

Assistant  Curator  of  North  American  Ethnology 


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FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 

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1923 


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Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

Department  of  Anthropology 
Chicago.  1923 

Leaflet  Number  7 

Purification  of  the  Sacred  Bundles, 
a  Ceremony  of  the  Pawnee 

The  religious  beliefs  of  the  Pawnee,  which  seem,  in 
some  ways,  to  have  been  on  a  higher  plane  than  those 
of  the  other  Plains  tribes,  have  been  described  in 
Leaflet  5  of  this  series,  under  the  title  "The  Thunder 
Ceremony  of  the  Pawnee."  At  the  head  of  their  pan- 
theon stood  Tirawa,  a  purely  spiritual  being,  who  was 
not  identified  with  any  animal,  object,  or  natural  phe- 
nomenon. Below  him  there  were  a  great  number  of 
gods  of  lesser  rank  who  were  divided  into  two  great 
classes, — the  gods  of  the  heavens  and  the  gods  of  the 
earth.  The  former  were,  for  the  most  part,  identified 
with  the  stars,  the  Evening  Star  holding  the  highest 
place,  with  the  Morning  Star  second.  The  former  was 
an  embodiment  of  all  the  female,  the  latter  of  all  the 
male,  attributes.  The  gods  of  the  earth  were,  for  the 
most  part,  identified  with  animals,  and  their  rank  was 
less  rigidly  fixed.  Of  the  two  groups  the  heavenly 
gods  were  the  more  important,  and  were  considered 
the  guardians  of  the  people  as  a  whole,  while  the  earth- 
ly gods  were  more  especially  the  guardians  of  indivi- 
duals and  secret  societies. 

The  ceremonies  held  in  honor  of  the  heavenly  gods 
centered  around  collections  of  sacred  objects  called  by 
the  whites  sacred  bundles  or  medicine  bundles.  The 
Skidi    Pawnee    called    them    chuhraraperu,    meaning 

[41] 


2  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

"rains-wrapped-up."  The  tribe  was  divided  into  a 
number  of  villages  all  of  whose  members  traced  their 
descent  in  the  female  line  from  a  single  ancestor.  Each 
of  these  villages  possessed  a  sacred  bundle,  while 
there  were  two  others  which  were  considered  the 
property  of  the  tribe  as  a  whole.  The  Four  Direction 
village  had  four  sacred  bundles  one  of  which  was  sacred 
to  each  of  the  cardinal  points.  These  points  were,  to 
the  Pawnee,  southwest,  southeast,  northwest,  and 
northeast.  The  sacred  bundle  of  each  village  was  be- 
lieved to  have  been  given  to  its  first  ancestor  by  one 
of  the  heavenly  beings,  and  constituted  a  link  between 
its  members  and  the  divine  donor.  From  their  tradi- 
tions the  "gift"  seems  to  have  consisted  rather  in  ex- 
plicit directions  for  its  making  than  in  an  actual  pre- 
sentation of  the  objects.  The  bundles  were  inherited 
in  the  female  line  so  that  their  owners  were  always 
women.  Their  keepers,  and  the  priests  who  performed 
their  ceremonies,  were,  on  the  other  hand,  men. 

All  the  village  bundles  contained  much  the  same 
objects.  The  most  important  of  these  were  one  or  two 
ears  of  corn,  which  were  called  Mother-Corn  and  were 
believed  to  give  life  to  the  bundle.  They  were  shelled 
in  the  spring  and  distributed  for  seed,  being  replaced 
at  harvest  time.  When  the  Mother-Corn  consisted  of 
two  ears,  one  of  these  was  attached  to  a  stick  and  sym- 
bolized the  male  element  or  Morning  Star,  while  the 
other  symbolized  the  female  element  or  Evening  Star. 
Next  in  importance  to  the  Mother-Corn  were  the  to- 
bacco-filled skins  of  hawks  and  owls.  The  hawk  sym- 
bolized a  warrior;  the  owl,  a  chief,  because  it  was 
always  awake  and  watchful.  The  owl  seems  to  have 
also  symbolized  the  watchfulness  of  Tirawa,  the  su- 
preme being.  One  or  more  scalps,  taken  from  slain  en- 
emies, were  found  in  every  bundle.  Pieces  cut  from 
them  were  used  in  various  ceremonies,  and  they  had  to 
be  renewed  from  time  to  time.     Four  skins,  each  of 

[42] 


Purification  of  the  Sacred  Bundles  3 

which  contained  red,  black,  and  white  paint  in  little 
buckskin  pouches ;  sweet  grass,  a  pipe  and  native  tobac- 
co, and  the  penis  bone  of  a  racoon,  were  also  placed  in 
each  bundle,  all  these  objects  being  used  in  the  cere- 
monies. The  sweet  grass  was  burned  as  incense,  and  the 
bone  was  attached  to  a  stick  and  used  as  a  fork  to  re- 
move meat  from  the  pot.  Some  bundles  contained 
additional  objects. 

When  the  bundle  was  not  in  use,  all  these  articles 
were  done  up  in  an  inner  and  an  outer  wrapper  of 
buffalo  hide  and  tied  with  a  rope  of  plaited  buffalo- 
hair.  To  the  outside  of  the  bundle  were  attached  the 
stems  of  one  or  more  pipes  whose  bowls  were  in  the 
bundle,  a  few  arrows  captured  from  the  enemy,  and 
some  other  objects.  The  arrows  were  used  as  fire 
pokers  and  pipe  tampers  during  the  ceremonies.  In 
ceremonial  smoking  it  was  forbidden  to  press  down 
the  tobacco  in  the  pipe  with  the  finger  lest  the  gods 
should  think  that  the  smoker  offered  himself  to  them 
with  the  tobacco.  Associated  with  each  bundle,  and 
often  fastened  to  it,  there  were  four  large  gourd 
rattles  of  special  form.  These  symbolized  the  four 
dieties  who  were  the  special  guardians  of  the  Evening 
Star,  and  also  represented  the  breasts  of  the  two  divine 
women  in  the  west, — the  Evening  Star  and  the  Moon. 

Except  at  the  time  of  ceremonies,  the  sacred  bundle 
was  hung  up  on  the  west  side  of  its  keeper's  lodge, 
above  the  buffalo  skull  which  was  always  placed  there. 
When  so  hung,  it  was  likened  by  the  Pawnee  to  a  dead 
man  in  his  grave.  The  spirit  lived  in  it,  but  slept. 
Even  when  opened,  the  bundle  continued  asleep  until 
the  Mother-Corn  had  been  placed  in  it.  It  then  came 
to  life,  and  during  the  ceremony  the  corn  and  the  other 
objects  represented,  individually  and  collectively,  super- 
natural beings.  These  beliefs  of  the  Pawnee  differ 
considerably  from  those  held  by  most  of  the  other 
tribes  who  used  sacred  bundles;  and  Dr.  G.  A.  Dorsey 

[43] 


4  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

has  concluded  that  the  village  bundles  of  the  Pawnee 
are  more  nearly  comparable  to  the  elaborate  altars  of 
the  Southwestern  Indians  than  to  the  medicine  bundles 
of  the  northern  Plains  tribes  and  Central  Algonkins. 

It  seems  probable  that  there  was  originally  a  special 
ceremony  connected  with  each  bundle.  There  were  ad- 
ditional ceremonies,  such  as  that  held  when  the  first 
thunder  was  heard  in  the  spring,  which  might  be  per- 
formed with  several  bundles  in  turn,  and  there  were  a 
few  rites  in  which  all  the  bundles  participated.  The 
purification  of  the  sacred  bundles  belonged  to  the  last 
class. 

The  purification  ceremony  was  held  in  the  spring 
and  again  in  the  autumn,  before  the  tribe  left  their 
permanent  villages  for  the  buffalo  hunt.  It  has  al- 
ready been  said  that  the  Four  Direction  village  had 
four  sacred  bundles.  These  took  the  lead  in  successive 
years.  When  the  chiefs  had  decided  upon  the  date 
for  departure  on  the  hunt,  they  notified  the  priest  of 
the  bundle  which  was  leader  in  that  year.  He  sent 
his  errand  man  to  summon  the  priests  of  the  other 
three  bundles.  These  came  to  his  lodge,  bringing  their 
bundles  with  them.  As  they  entered,  they  beat  their 
bundles,  then  crossed  to  the  west  side  of  the  lodge,  and 
seated  themselves  with  their  bundles  in  front  of  them 
on  the  ground.  The  errand  man  was  then  sent  to  sum- 
mon the  keepers  of  all  the  other  village  bundles,  direct- 
ing them  to  bring  their  bundles  and  also  mats,  pillows, 
and  food-bowls.  When  these  arrived  at  the  lodge,  they 
took  designated  places  around  it,  spreading  their  mats 
on  the  ground  and  hanging  their  bundles,  unopened, 
on  the  wall  behind  them. 

When  all  had  arrived,  one  of  the  four  priests  went 
through  the  village  announcing  the  beginning  of  the 
ceremony  and  calling  on  the  people  to  bring  gifts  to 
Mother-Corn.  These  gifts  consisted  of  a  robe,  mocca- 
sins, a  hair  cord,  to  be  used  as  a  girdle,  and  dried  meat 

[44] 


Purification  of  the  Sacred  Bundles  5 

and  fat.  The  articles  of  clothing  had  to  be  new  and 
unused,  and  the  meat  that  of  buffalo  which  had  been 
dedicated  to  the  gods  at  the  time  they  were  killed.  The 
gifts  could  only  be  presented  by  men  who  were  in 
favor  with  the  gods.  If  the  priests  accepted  them 
from  men  who  were  evil  in  their  lives  or  negligent  in 
their  religious  duties,  the  gods  would  be  offended  and 
refuse  to  send  the  buffalo.  Before  taking  a  gift  to  the 
lodge,  a  man  painted  himself  red,  so  that  all  the 
people  might  know  his  errand;  and,  when  the  gift 
had  been  accepted,  two  messengers  went  through  the 
village,  thanking  him  publicly. 

The  priests  and  bundle  keepers  remained  in  the 
lodge  for  three  days  and  nights,  sleeping  in  their  desig- 
nated places.  No  ceremonies  seem  to  have  been  per- 
formed during  this  period,  and  they  passed  the  time  in 
talk  and  in  feasting  on  the  food  which  was  brought  to 
them.  No  women  were  allowed  to  enter  the  lodge  dur- 
ing the  whole  time  of  the  ceremony. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  the  priests  of  the 
Four  Direction  bundles  rose  very  early  and  dug  a  rec- 
tangular pit  to  the  west  of  the  fire-place,  between  it 
and  the  permanent  altar  of  the  lodge.  The  buffalo 
skull,  which  at  ordinary  times  stood  on  this  altar,  was 
removed  and  placed  north  of  the  fire-place.  The  earth 
from  the  excavation  was  taken  outside  the  lodge  and 
piled  in  a  mound  before  the  door.  When  the  pit  was 
finished,  the  priests  carpeted  it  with  white  dowaiy 
feathers.  This  pit  seems  to  have  corresponded  to  the 
pit  dug  below  the  scaffold  at  the  time  of  the  human 
sacrifice  to  the  Morning  Star  and,  like  it,  represented 
the  Evening  Star's  garden  in  the  west,  the  source  of 
all  earthly  fertility  and  increase. 

When  the  pit  had  been  completed,  the  priests  di- 
rected the  keepers  of  the  various  bundles  to  open  them 
and  take  out  the  Mother-Corn.  A  sacred  stick,  kept 
in   the   Big-Black-Meteoric-Star  bundle,   was  set   up 

[45] 


6  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

just  east  of  the  pit.  The  keeper  of  that  bundle  then 
brought  the  Mother-Corn  from  it  and  placed  it  in  the 
pit,  thrusting  the  stick  to  which  the  male  ear  was  at- 
tached into  the  earth  so  that  it  stood  upright  and 
leaning  the  other  ear  against  its  base.  The  keepers 
of  the  other  bundles  then  came  forward  in  turn  and 
did  the  same.  A  wooden  bowl  filled  with  water  was 
then  placed  to  the  east  of  the  pit,  between  it  and  the 
fire-place.  A  clam  shell  was  laid  in  the  bowl,  and  a 
turtle,  supported  by  a  framework  of  sticks,  was  placed 
upon  it.  To  the  northeast  and  northwest  of  the  bowl 
were  laid  the  heads  and  necks  of  loons,  to  the  south- 
east the  head  and  neck  of  a  swan,  and  to  the  south- 
west a  gar  fish.  The  meaning  of  these  objects  is  not 
perfectly  understood.  The  bowl  seems  to  have  repre- 
sented earth  and  water ;  the  turtle,  fire  and  also  one  of 
the  important  earthly  gods.  The  loons  and  swan  repre- 
sented earthly  gods,  guardians  of  medicine  men;  and 
the  gar  fish,  the  great  sea  monster  which  first  gave 
the  medicine  men's  ceremony  to  human  beings. 

After  these  objects  had  been  arranged,  the  chief 
priest  selected  four  men  to  sit  at  the  northeast,  north- 
west, southeast  and  southwest  corners  of  the  bowl. 
The  sacred  stick  from  the  Big-Black-Meteoric-Star 
bundle,  and  a  star  chart,  kept  in  a  bag  attached  to  that 
bundle,  were  taken  outside  and  placed  on  the  mound 
in  front  of  the  doorway.  The  priest  then  took  four 
smooth  stones  from  the  same  bundle  and  gave  one  to 
each  of  the  four  men.  These  stones  were  extremely 
sacred,  and  were  believed  to  have  been  given  to  the 
people  at  the  beginning  of  the  world.  They  were  pro- 
vided with  withe  handles  so  that  they  could  be  carried 
without  touching  them.  When  they  had  been  distrib- 
uted, the  priest  said,  "It  is  now  time  for  these  men 
to  go  outside  and  look  at  the  heavens  and  over  the 
earth.  They  will  take  with  them  these  four  stones, 
which  were  given  to  our  people  when  the  earth  was 

[46] 


Purification  of  the  Sacred  Bundles  7 

created."  Turning  to  the  men,  he  told  them  to  rise 
and  go  out  of  the  lodge.  When  they  had  risen,  he  went 
to  the  man  who  stood  on  the  northeast  and  gave  him 
the  sacred  pipe  from  the  bundle  which  was  the  leader 
in  that  year  and  a  strip  of  dried  buffalo  fat  about  one 
foot  long  and  four  inches  wide.  After  this  the  men 
passed  out  of  the  lodge,  while  the  priests  sang  a  song 
describing  their  looking  at  the  heavens  and  earth. 

The  four  men  seated  themselves  around  the  mound 
of  earth  taken  from  the  pit  in  the  same  positions  they 
had  occupied  around  the  bowl  in  the  lodge.  An  errand 
man  then  kindled  a  small  fire  to  the  east  of  the  mound, 
and  the  man  who  sat  on  the  northeast  placed  the  dried 
fat  upon  it.  As  soon  as  the  grease  began  to  run  out, 
the  other  three  men  caught  some  of  it  in  their  hands 
and  greased  their  hands  and  faces.  They  also  greased 
the  sacred  stones  and  passed  them  through  the  smoke. 
When  this  had  been  done,  the  fat  was  removed  from 
the  fire,  and  all  four  smoked  the  sacred  pipe,  passing 
it  from  one  to  another.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  smok- 
ing, the  pipe  was  laid  on  the  mound,  and  all  stood  up 
slowly,  looking  at  the  sky  in  all  directions.  They  then 
picked  up  the  fat,  the  pipe,  and  the  sacred  stones,  and 
re-entered  the  lodge. 

While  the  men  were  outside,  the  priests  had  sung  a 
series  of  songs,  but  ceased  singing  as  they  entered.  The 
man  from  the  northeast,  who  was  the  leader  of  the 
four,  went  to  the  bowl  of  water,  picked  up  the  bird's 
head  which  lay  northeast  of  the  bowl,  dipped  its  bill 
in  the  water,  and  drank  from  it.  He  then  pressed  it 
first  to  his  right  and  then  to  his  left  breast,  and  re- 
placed it  on  the  ground.  He  took  up  the  turtle  a*nd  did 
the  same  with  it,  except  that  he  pressed  it  against  his 
abdomen  instead  of  his  breast.  When  he  had  finished, 
he  stood  a  short  distance  away  on  the  west,  and  the 
other  three  men  came  from  their  respective  directions 
and  went  through  the  same  performance.     After  this 

[47] 


8  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

rite,  they  seated  themselves  in  their  original  places, 
and  the  priest  said,  "Priests,  the  men  whom  we  have 
sent  out  to  look  about  have  returned.  They  will  tell 
us  what  they  have  seen."  The  man  on  the  northeast 
rose  and  announced,  "We  went  out  before  daylight. 
We  found  the  buffalo ;  so  many  of  them  that  they  have 
almost  drunk  the  river  dry."  The  others  rose  in  turn 
and  gave  the  same  answer. 

The  chief  priest  then  called  some  famous  warrior 
and  gave  him  the  sacred  pipe  which  the  men  had  used, 
and  gave  the  strip  of  fat  to  a  chief.  These  passed 
around  the  interior  of  the  lodge,  first  on  the  north,  and 
then  on  the  south  side,  offering  first  the  pipe  and  then 
the  fat  to  each  of  the  keepers  in  turn.  All  reached  for 
the  pipe  at  once,  trying  to  get  as  many  hands  on  it  as 
possible.  They  did  the  same  with  the  fat,  clutching  it 
as  if  starving  and  trying  to  tear  off  pieces.  This  sym- 
bolized their  eagerness  to  kill  buffalo,  and  the  tighter  a 
man  grasped  the  pipe,  and  the  more  fat  he  succeeded 
in  tearing  off,  the  better  would  be  his  success  on  the 
hunt. 

When  the  pipe  and  fat  had  completed  their  circuit, 
they  were  placed  on  the  altar.  The  priest  then  called 
the  chief  of  the  whole  band  to  the  altar  and  invested 
him  with  the  robe,  rope,  and  moccasins  which  had  been 
provided  as  gifts  to  Mother-Corn.  The  sacred  pipe 
was  placed  in  his  hands,  and  the  priest  announced, 
"Priests  and  men,  this  man  will  take  us  to  the  river." 
All  the  keepers  then  went  to  the  pit  and  took  from  it 
the  Mother-Corn  belonging  to  their  respective  bundles. 

While  this  was  going  on,  men  had  entered  the  lodge 
and  seated  themselves  in  front  of  the  bundles  belong- 
ing to  their  respective  villages.  The  star  chart  was 
brought  in  from  outside  and  given  to  a  warrior  belong- 
ing to  the  village  of  the  Big-Black-Meteoric-Star 
bundle.  Three  other  men  were  given  quivers  belonging 
to  other  sacred  bundles.    These  four  seated  themselves, 

[48] 


Purification  of  the  Sacred  Bundles  9 

one  behind  the  other,  near  the  entrance  of  the  lodge,  the 
man  with  the  star  chart  being  in  the  lead.  The  various 
objects  in  the  bundles  were  then  distributed  to  the  men 
from  their  villages.  The  chief  of  the  band,  in  his  cere- 
monial costume,  left  the  lodge,  and  began  to  muster  the 
small  boys  of  the  tribe  outside.  All  who  were  old  enough 
to  take  part  were  expected  to  be  present,  and  in  per- 
forming this  duty  the  chief  was  supposed  to  show  his 
watchfulness  over  the  people. 

During  the  distribution  of  the  sacred  objects  the 
priests  had  been  shaking  their  rattles  and  singing. 
Three  songs  were  sung,  and  when  they  reached  a  cer- 
tain word  in  the  fourth,  the  man  who  carried  the  star 
chart  jumped  up  and  ran  toward  the  river,  closely  fol- 
lowed by  the  men  with  the  quivers.  All  the  others  fol- 
lowed them,  with  much  crowding  and  fighting  at  the 
doorway.  The  priests  and  the  keepers  of  the  bundles 
remained  behind.  The  men  raced  to  the  river  bank,  and 
there  lined  up  in  four  ranks.  Anyone  who  overtook 
the  runner  with  the  star  chart  snatched  it  from 
him,  the  idea  being  to  carry  it  to  the  stream  in  the 
least  possible  time.  At  the  river  bank  it  was  re- 
turned to  its  original  bearer.  The  man  with  the  star 
chart,  and  those  with  the  quivers,  stood  in  the  center 
of  the  front  rank,  with  the  men  who  carried  the 
Mother-Corn  on  either  side.  Behind  them  stood  the 
men  with  the  owl  and  hawk  skins  from  the  bundles, 
and  behind  these  in  turn  the  bearers  of  the  less  im- 
portant objects.  The  last  rank  was  made  up  of  small 
boys,  who  carried  racoon  bones  and  arrows.  When  all 
had  taken  their  places,  the  ranks  opened  in  the  center, 
and  the  chief  came  through,  carrying  the  sacred  pipe. 
He  waded  down  into  the  water  and  went  through  the 
motions  of  bathing  the  pipe  four  times,  although  he 
did  not  wet  it.  He  then  pretended  to  wash  first  his 
right  and  then  his  left  hand,  and  finally  dipped  his 
right  hand  in  the  water  and  touched  it  to  his  mouth, 

[49] 


10  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

nose,  and  forehead,  and  then  drew  it  down  his  face. 
These  movements  were  repeated  four  times,  with  the 
right  and  left  hands  alternately.  When  he  had  done 
this,  he  came  up  out  of  the  water,  passed  through  the 
ranks,  and  took  his  place  behind  the  rearmost,  with  his 
face  toward  the  village.  The  men  of  the  first  rank 
then  waded  down  into  the  stream  and  went  through 
the  same  performance  with  the  sacred  objects  they 
carried.  They  then  passed  through  the  other  ranks 
and  took  their  place  behind  the  chief.  The  other  two 
ranks  did  the  same.  When  all  had  finished,  the  chief 
led  them  back  to  the  village.  As  they  entered  it,  the 
small  boys  dispersed,  but  the  men  continued  on  to  the 
ceremonial  lodge,  where  they  returned  the  objects  they 
carried  to  the  keepers  of  the  bundles  and  put  on  their 
robes,  which  they  had  left  behind  during  the  race. 
They  then  returned  to  their  own  lodges. 

All  the  women  who  were  bundle  owners  had  ground 
com  during  the  preceding  night  land  made  mush. 
This  mush  had  been  brought  to  the  lodge  and  given  to 
the  chief  priest  early  in  the  morning,  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  ceremonies  just  described.  He  now 
offered  a  little  of  it  to  the  gods  and  distributed  the 
rest  to  the  priests  and  keepers.  They  ate,  and  then 
tied  their  sacred  bundles,  took  up  their  mats,  pillows, 
and  bowls,  and  returned  to  their  own  lodges. 

After  they  had  left  the  ceremonial  lodge,  a  crier 
went  through  the  town,  telling  the  people  to  clean 
their  lodges  and  the  streets  of  their  villages  and  carry 
the  filth  away.  When  this  had  been  done,  the  priests 
who  had  taken  part  in  the  ceremony  had  a  sweat  lodge 
built,  and  one  of  them  stood  outside  it,  shaking  his 
gourd  rattle  and  singing.  All  the  people  assembled 
and  ran  a  race  down  to  the  river.  When  they  reached 
it,  the  priests  waded  in,  came  out  at  once,  and  went 
to  the  sweat  lodge,  where  they  took  a  steam  bath.     The 

[50] 


Purification  of  the  Sacred  Bundles  11 

rest  of  the  village,  men,  women  and  children,  remained 

at  the  river,  swimming  and  playing  in  the  water. 

Ceremonies  of  general  purification  were  important 

among  the  settled  agricultural  tribes  of  the  southeastern 

and  southwestern  United  States.     Among  these  tribes 

they  were  usually  associated  with  the  making  of  new 

fire,  a  feature  which  seems  to  have  been  lacking  in  the 

Pawnee  ceremony.     The  account  of  this  ceremony  has 

been  compiled  from  the  unpublished  notes  of  Dr.  G.  A. 

Dorsey. 

Ralph  Linton 


[51] 


""iTffSffy 


UNIVERSfTY  OF  ILLIN0I8-URBANA 


3  0112  055386194 


